Manchester United F.C. Under-21s and Academy

Manchester United Football Club Under-21s is the most senior of Manchester United's youth teams and the club's former reserve team. They play in the Premier League 2, the highest tier of the Professional Development League. The team is effectively Manchester United's second-string side, but is limited to five outfield players and one goalkeeper over the age of 21 per game following the introduction of new regulations from the 2022–23 season, a change from three outfield players over age 23 introduced in 2016–17. The age limit previously was again 21, from 2012–13. The team's current manager is Travis Binnion, who took over from Mark Dempsey in 2023.

Manchester United F.C. Under-21s
The words "Manchester" and "United" surround a pennant featuring a ship in full sail and a devil holding a trident.
Full nameManchester United Football Club Under-21s
Nickname(s)The Red Devils, United
Founded1878, as Newton Heath Reserves
GroundLeigh Sports Village,
Leigh
Capacity12,000[1]
Co-chairmenJoel and Avram Glazer
ManagerTravis Binnion
LeaguePremier League 2 Division 1
2022–23Premier League 2 Division 1, 9th
Departments of Manchester United
Men's football Women's football Academy
Basketball
(defunct)

They were champions of the former Premier Reserve League five times (in 2002, 2005, 2006, 2010 and 2012) between its introduction in 1999 and its dissolution in 2012. The team also won the 2012–13 Professional U21 Development League 1 in its inaugural season, and again in 2015 and 2016. The team also participates in the regional Manchester Senior Cup and the Lancashire Senior Cup. From the 2019–20 edition, they also participate in the nationwide EFL Trophy along with senior teams from levels 3 and 4 of the English football league system, as teams from levels 1 and 2 are restricted to players aged 21 and under.

From November 2008 to August 2013, the team played its home matches at Moss Lane in Altrincham, the home of Altrincham F.C. For the 2013–14 Under-21 Premier League season, the team has played the majority of its home matches at Salford City Stadium in Barton-upon-Irwell.[2] Since 2014–15, the team play its home matches at Leigh Sports Village.[3] Rules set out by the Premier League state that at least three home league games per season must be played at the club's main stadium, Old Trafford.[4] In previous seasons, the team has played at the Victoria Stadium, the home of Northwich Victoria, and Ewen Fields, the home of Hyde United.[5]

Manchester United also has an Under-18s team that plays in the Premier League Under-18s Group 2 and the FA Youth Cup. The under-18s play their home games at the club's Trafford Training Centre in Carrington.

Under-21s

Current squad
As of 27 September 2023[6]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
40 GK Czech Republic CZE Radek Vítek
44 MF England ENG Dan Gore
45 GK Northern Ireland NIR Dermot Mee
52 FW England ENG Joe Hugill
53 DF France FRA Willy Kambwala
55 DF England ENG Tyler Fredricson
59 MF Norway NOR Isak Hansen-Aarøen
61 FW Colombia COL Mateo Mejía
62 MF England ENG Omari Forson
63 FW England ENG Ethan Ennis
No. Pos. Nation Player
65 MF England ENG Toby Collyer
66 DF England ENG Rhys Bennett
67 MF England ENG Sam Mather
68 DF Poland POL Maxi Oyedele
69 DF England ENG Sonny Aljofree
71 GK England ENG Tom Wooster
72 DF England ENG Sam Murray
92 MF Gibraltar GIB James Scanlon
— DF England ENG Marcus Lawrence
— MF England ENG Tom Huddlestone (player-coach)

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
48 DF England ENG Will Fish (at Hibernian until 30 June 2024)[7]
56 FW England ENG Charlie McNeill (at Stevenage until 30 June 2024)

Manager history
YearsName
1946–1964Wales Jimmy Murphy
1964–1969England Wilf McGuinness
1969–1970England John Aston, Sr.
1970–1971England Wilf McGuinness
1971–1974England Bill Foulkes
1974–1981England Jack Crompton
1981–1991England Brian Whitehouse
1991–2000England Pop Robson
Scotland Jimmy Ryan
2000–2001England Mike Phelan
2001–2002Scotland Brian McClair
2002England Mike Phelan
2002–2005Scotland Ricky Sbragia
2005–2006Scotland Brian McClair
2005–2006Netherlands René Meulensteen
2006–2008Scotland Brian McClair
2008–2011Norway Ole Gunnar Solskjær
England Warren Joyce[8][9]
2011–2016England Warren Joyce[10]
2016–2017England Nicky Butt[11]
2017–2019Scotland Ricky Sbragia[12]
2019–2022England Neil Wood[13]
2022–2023England Mark Dempsey[14]
2023–presentEngland Travis Binnion[15]

Honours

Academy
Manchester United F.C. Under-18s
The words "Manchester" and "United" surround a pennant featuring a ship in full sail and a devil holding a trident.
Full nameManchester United Football Club Under-18s
Nickname(s)The Red Devils, United
Founded1998
GroundTrafford Training Centre
Carrington
Co-chairmenJoel and Avram Glazer
Head coachAdam Lawrence
LeagueU18 Premier League North
2022–23U18 Premier League North, 3rd

The Manchester United Academy was established in 1998, following the reorganisation of youth football in England, but has roots stretching all the way back to the 1930s with the establishment of the Manchester United Junior Athletic Club (MUJAC). and has been responsible for producing some of Manchester United's greatest ever players, including the club's top five all-time appearance makers, Ryan Giggs, Bobby Charlton, Bill Foulkes, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville, and the new wave of home-grown talents known as Fergie's Fledglings. The current academy is based at the club's Aon Training Complex, an 85-acre (340,000 m2) site in the Manchester suburb of Carrington.

The Manchester United youth team is statistically the most successful in English football, with nine players in the English football Hall of Fame (Duncan Edwards, Sir Bobby Charlton, George Best, Nobby Stiles, Mark Hughes, Paul Scholes, David Beckham and Johnny Giles). Manchester United also have the best FA Youth Cup record, winning on 10 occasions out of 14 final appearances.

The academy comprises age-group teams ranging from Under-9s up to the flagship Under-18s, who currently compete in Group C of the Premier Academy League and in the FA Youth Cup. The Under-16s and Under-18s typically play their academy league games at 11am on Saturday mornings at Carrington, while Youth Cup games are generally played at either Altrincham's Moss Lane ground (where the under-23s play their home games) or the club's 76,000-capacity Old Trafford home, in order to cater for the greater number of supporters these fixtures attract.

In 2007, Manchester United Under-18s won the Champions Youth Cup, intended to be an analogue to the FIFA Club World Cup for youth sides, beating Juventus 1–0 in the final in Malaysia. It was their first and only title, since the tournament was scrapped after only one edition.

Current squad

As of 16 September 2023[16][17][18][19]

Nat. Player Date of birth Position International caps Previous club Joined United
2nd Year Scholars
England Thomas Myles (2005-11-17) 17 November 2005 GK July 2022
England Elyh Harrison (2006-02-19) 19 February 2006 GK Stevenage July 2022
England James Nolan (2005-10-02) 2 October 2005 DF Capped at Under-18 level July 2022
Scotland Louis Jackson (2005-09-18) 18 September 2005 DF Capped at Under-18 level July 2022
Scotland Jack Kingdon (2005-11-16) 16 November 2005 DF Capped at Under-18 level July 2022
England Habeeb Ogunneye (2005-11-12) 12 November 2005 DF Capped at Under-18 level July 2022
England Ethan Williams (2005-11-14) 14 November 2005 MF Capped at Under-15 level Barnsley July 2022
England Jack Moorhouse (2005-11-29) 29 November 2005 MF July 2022
England Ruben Curley (2005-09-05) 5 September 2005 MF July 2022
England Finley McAllister (2006-07-16) 16 July 2006 MF Capped at Under-17 level July 2022
Scotland Malachi Sharpe (2005-11-20) 20 November 2005 FW Capped at Under-18 level Derby County July 2022
England Ashton Missin (2006-08-15) 15 August 2006 FW July 2022
England Ethan Wheatley (2006-01-20) 20 January 2006 FW July 2022
England Adam Berry (2006-01-09) 9 January 2006 FW July 2022

2023 intake

The following players are confirmed to be part of the intake for the 2023–24 season as of 19 July 2023.[20]

Nat. Player Date of birth Position International caps Previous club Joined United
1st Year Scholars
England Will Murdock (2007-05-26) 26 May 2007 GK July 2023
England Jaydan Kamason (2006-12-08) 8 December 2006 DF Capped at Under-16 level July 2023
England Reece Munro (2007-07-21) 21 July 2007 DF July 2023
England Harry Amass (2007-02-16) 16 February 2007 DF Watford July 2023
England Zach Baumann (2007-01-02) 2 January 2007 MF July 2023
England Jacob Devaney (2007-06-11) 11 June 2007 MF July 2023
England Jayce Fitzgerald (2007-05-09) 9 May 2007 MF Capped at Under-16 level July 2023
England Tyler Fletcher (2007-03-19) 19 March 2007 MF Manchester City July 2023
England Jack Fletcher (2007-03-19) 19 March 2007 MF Manchester City July 2023
Wales Gabriele Bianchieri (2006-09-18) 18 September 2006 FW Capped at Under-17 level Cardiff City July 2023
England Sekou Kaba (2007-03-28) 28 March 2007 FW Derby County July 2023
England Shea Lacey (2007-04-14) 14 April 2007 FW Capped at Under-15 level July 2023
Spain Victor Musa (2006-09-05) 5 September 2006 FW Capped at Under-16 level Bradford City July 2023

Honours

Staff
Role Name
Director of Academy England Nick Cox[15]
Senior Academy Coach England Mark Dempsey[15]
Head of Player Development and Coaching (U19–U23) Republic of Ireland Travis Binnion[15]
Under-21 Head Coach
Under-21 Assistant Coach/Player England Tom Huddlestone[15]
Professional Development Phase Coaches Wales David Hughes[15]
England Colin Little[15]
Lead Academy Goalkeeping Coach (U21) Tommy Lee[15]
Academy Goalkeeping Coach Christopher Backhouse[24]
Under-21 Performance Analyst Curtis Quinn[24]
Head of Player Development (U13–U16) Adam Lawrence[15]
Under-18 Head Coach
Academy Goalkeeping Coach (U18) Kevin Wolfe[15]
Head of Academy Performance Matt Walker[24]
PDP Athletic Development Coach England Luke Lawrence[24]
Under-16 Lead Coach England Martin Drury[15]
Under-15 Lead Coach Republic of Ireland Paul McShane[15]
Academy Programme Advisor Eamon Mulvey[24]
Under-13 Lead Coach England Hasney Aljofree[25]
Under-12 Lead Coach England Lee Unsworth[26]
YDP Athletic Development Lead (U12–U16) Alex Ouzounoglou[24]

Notable youth team players

The following is a list of players who have played in the Manchester United youth team (U16–U18) and represented a country (not necessarily their country of birth) at full international level.[27] Players who are currently playing at Manchester United, or for another club on loan from Manchester United, are highlighted in bold.

Players of the Year

Prior to 1990, a single award was presented to the best young player of that season. Between 1982 and 1985 this was the entitled "Young Player of the Year"; the award then became known as the "Denzil Haroun Young Player of the Year" between 1986 and 1989 in honour of Denzil Haroun, a former club director and brother-in-law of former club chairman Louis Edwards.

Since 1990, individual awards are made to the best player of the Academy and the Reserves. The "Young Player of the Year" is named in honour of Jimmy Murphy, Sir Matt Busby's long-time assistant manager, who died in 1989, and the best reserve is awarded the "Denzil Haroun Reserve Player of the Year".

Season Supporters Club
Young Player of the Year
1982–83Norman Whiteside
1983–84Mark Hughes
1984–85Mark Hughes
Season Denzil Haroun
Young Player of the Year
1985–86Simon Ratcliffe
1986–87Gary Walsh
1987–88Lee Martin
1988–89Mark Robins
Season Jimmy Murphy
Young Player of the Year[28]		 Denzil Haroun
Reserve Team Player of the Year[29]
1989–90Lee MartinMark Robins
1990–91Ryan GiggsJason Lydiate
1991–92Ryan GiggsBrian Carey
1992–93Paul ScholesColin McKee
1993–94Phil NevilleNicky Butt
1994–95Terry CookeKevin Pilkington
1995–96Ronnie WallworkMichael Appleton
1996–97John CurtisMichael Clegg
1997–98Wes BrownMichael Twiss
1998–99Wes BrownMark Wilson
1999–2000Bojan DjordjicJonathan Greening
2000–01Alan TateMichael Stewart
2001–02Paul TierneyJohn O'Shea
2002–03Ben CollettDarren Fletcher
2003–04Jonathan SpectorDavid Jones
2004–05Giuseppe RossiSylvan Ebanks-Blake
2005–06Darron GibsonGiuseppe Rossi
2006–07[30]Craig CathcartKieran Lee
2007–08[31]Danny WelbeckRichard Eckersley
2008–09[32]Federico MachedaJames Chester
2009–10Will Keane[28]Ritchie De Laet[29]
2010–11Ryan Tunnicliffe[33]Oliver Gill[34]
2011–12Mats Møller Dæhli[35]Michael Keane[36]
2012–13Ben Pearson[37]Adnan Januzaj[38]
2013–14James Wilson[39]Saidy Janko[40]
2014–15Axel Tuanzebe[41]Andreas Pereira[42]
2015–16Marcus Rashford[43]Cameron Borthwick-Jackson[44]
2016–17Angel Gomes[45]Axel Tuanzebe[46]
2017–18Tahith Chong[47]Demetri Mitchell[48]
2018–19Mason Greenwood[49]Tahith Chong[50]
2019–20Anthony Elanga[51]James Garner[52]
2020–21 Shola Shoretire[53] Hannibal Mejbri[54]
2021–22 Alejandro Garnacho[55] Álvaro Fernández[56]
2022–23 Kobbie Mainoo[57] Dan Gore[58]

References
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  2. Marshall, Adam (13 August 2013). "New home for Under-21s". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
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  4. "Premier League 2: Competition format explained". Premier League. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
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  7. "Will Fish rejoins Hibernian for 2023/24". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 27 July 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  8. Thompson, Gemma (26 May 2008). "Duo to manage Reserves". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
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